Chicago Stock Exchange plans new speed bump to curb fast traders

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Chicago Stock Exchange has proposed a new speed bump that certain traders could bypass if they agree to strict trading obligations on the exchange aimed at making it easier for others to buy and sell stocks, according to a regulatory filing.

The move is the latest attempt by an exchange to address concerns by some investors that while decades of technological advances have cut trade execution times to near light speed, it is now nearly impossible to compete with the fastest trading firms for the best market prices.

The speed bump will help prevent opportunistic traders from exploiting the tiny differences in time it takes to price securities across 13 U.S. stock exchanges, CHX said in the Feb. 3 filing.

CHX said it has noticed “latency arbitrage” - when speedy traders detect a price change on one exchange and then race ahead to other exchanges to pick off quotes at stale prices - on its exchange. The practice has led firms that quote buy and sell prices for others to trade against to step back from the market, CHX said.

Firms that agree to trade and quote a specific amount on the exchange would bypass the proposed 350 microsecond pause for incoming orders, giving them time to update their prices.

Last August, CHX proposed another speed bump that would apply to all liquidity-taking orders. That proposal is still under review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Supporters of speed bumps say they even the playing field for fast and slow traders, while detractors say the mechanisms further complicate an already complex market.

Author Michael Lewis wrote about the inner workings of the market, with its throng of look-alike electronic exchanges linked by fiber optic cables and a tangle of regulations, in March 2014’s “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt.”

The book claimed exchanges reap huge profits by giving high-frequency traders systemic advantages over institutional investors. It followed the founders of IEX Group as they planned to create the first speed bump-equipped exchange.